Sydney Sekeramayi

Infobox Officeholder


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honorific-prefix = The Hon. Dr.
name = Sydney Serkeramayi
honorific-suffix = MP
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office = Minister of Defence
term_start = 2001
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president = Robert Mugabe
predecessor = Moven Mahachi
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birth_date = March 30 1944
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nationality = flagicon|Zimbabwe Zimbabwean
party = Zanu-PF
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Dr. Sydney Tigere Sekeramayi (born March 30 1944 [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060929225036/www.parlzim.gov.zw/Mps_index_six/Sekeramayi/sekeramayi.html Page at Zimbabwean Parliament website] .] ) is a Zimbabwean politician who has served as a minister in the Cabinet since independence in 1980. He has been Minister of Defence since 2001. During the Rhodesian Bush War he served as the Zimbabwe African National Union's representative in Sweden. After the war he served as the Minister of National Security, Deputy Secretary of Health Minister for National Security, and Minister for Transport and Welfare. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200706110251.html Zimbabwe: Reports of failed coup in Zimbabwe] , June 11, 2007. AllAfrica] Sellström, Tor. "Liberation in Southern Africa: Regional and Swedish voices: Interviews from Angola, Mozambique...", 2002. Nordiska Afrikainstitutet. Page 226-230.] Dashwood, Hevina Smith. "Zimbabwe: The Political Economy of Transformation", 2000. Page 105.] Hill, Geoff. "The Battle for Zimbabwe: The Final Countdown," 2003. Page 293.] Great Britain Foreign and Commonwealth Office. "A Year Book of the Commonwealth," 1986. Page 426.]

In Rhodesia his school expelled him. He moved to Czechoslovakia to study on an NDP scholarship with help from Rupiah Banda, the International Secretary of the Zambia' Students Union. Banda established contact between Sekeramayi and the NIB. In June 1964 he moved from Czechoslovakia to Lund, Sweden, on an NIB scholarship. He studied genetics at the University of Lund, became ZANU's representative in Sweden, and then attended medical school. In Lund he studied with Alexander Chikwanda of the United National Independence Party of Zambia.Sellstr̀eom, Tor. "Sweden and National Liberation in Southern Africa", 2002. Page 323.]

In 1969 Sekeramayi requested assistance from SIDA in his function as Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Students' Union in Europe. He coordinated Herbert Chitepo and Richard Grove's visits to Sweden.

In 1976 he moved to Mozambique.

In the 1980s he participated in the Gukurahundi massacres.Patrick Burnett and Firoze Madatally Manji. "African Voices on Development and Social Justice: Editorials from Pambazuka News 2004", 2005. Page 227.]

In 2001 Defense Minister Moven Mahachi died in a car crash and Sekeramayi became the new Defense Minister. In 2005 William Mervin Gumede mentioned Sekeramayi as one of several leading politicians who may succeed Mugabe as President of Zimbabwe because of their support among the military.Gumede, William Mervin. "Thabo Mbeki And The Battle For The Soul Of The ANC," 2005. Page 193.]

He is considered a close ally of Emmerson Mnangagwa, formerly the Speaker of Parliament, and Joyce Mujuru. [http://www.iss.co.za/AF/current/zimmar02.htm Situation Report: Future power plays in Zimbabwe] Institute for Security Studies]

Sekeramayi won the House of Assembly seat from Marondera East constituency, in Mashonaland East Province, as the ZANU-PF candidate in the March 2005 parliamentary election. According to official results he defeated Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) candidate Iain Kay with 19,912 votes against Kay's 10,066 votes; this victory was questioned on the grounds that the total number of votes was said to exceed voter turnout. [David Blair, [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/04/07/wzim07.xml "Mugabe 'conjures up' winning votes"] , "Daily Telegraph" (United Kingdom), April 8, 2005.]

In the ZANU-PF primaries for the March 2008 parliamentary election, Sekeramayi again sought the party's nomination as its candidate for the House of Assembly seat from Marondera East, but was defeated. [Spiwe Ncube, [http://www.zimdaily.com/news/117/ARTICLE/2352/2008-02-06.html "Zanu (PF) heavyweights lose primary polls"] , zimdaily.com, February 6, 2008.] [Lebo Nkatazo, [http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/zanupf12.17697.html "Makoni humiliated as Zanu PF rejects his bid for MP"] , newzimbabwe.com, February 5, 2008.] He was instead nominated as ZANU-PF's candidate for the Senate from Marondera-Hwedza in Mashonaland East. [ [http://allafrica.com/stories/200802150006.html "Zimbabwe: Zanu-PF Names Poll Candidates"] , "The Herald" (allAfrica.com), February 15, 2008.] Sekeramayi won this seat according to official results, receiving 24,571 votes against 17,370 for Jane Chifamba of the MDC-Tsvangirai faction and 6,994 for Molai Penelope of the MDC-Mutambara faction. [ [http://newzimbabwe.com/pages/electoral218.18003.html "Zimbabwe senate election results"] , newzimbabwe.com.]

References